14 June 1879 • Paris, France (MS facsimile: Clemens 1932, pp. 45–46, UCCL 01669)
Enclosed please find wages of sin amounting to 40 fr. Go, & transgress no more. My scouts report that the balloon will not begin her passenger trips until Monday. I was getting afraid they would fill my order for tickets on Sunday . I preferred to draw the line for Sabbath-outrages at horse-racing. I imagined a conversation like this—& it made me shudder.
St. Peter. How did you come?
You & I. By balloon, your Reverence.
St. Peter. When did you leave?
I know my weakness; I should be sure to say, “Early Saturday morning, your Reverence.” Then the verdict would be fatal: “Guilty of ballooning on the Sabbath—in questionable company—& then lying about it.”
Detain Mrs. Deane, & let’s try it Monday, for instance.
References
- Clemens, Cyril. Mark Twain the Letter Writer. Foreword by Carl Sandburg. Boston: Meador Publishing Company. 1932
- Machlis, Paul, ed. Union Catalog of Clemens Letters. Edited by Paul Machlis. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press. [In some cases, UCCL catalog numbers cited in this volume supersede those assigned in 1986 and reflect corrections or additions to the catalog since publication. An updated version of the catalog can be consulted via the Letters Search page at MTPO.] 1986
MS facsimile, Clemens 1932, 45–46.
In 1932, the letter was owned by Mrs. C. M. Morris, daughter of General Lucius Fairchild.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.